1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a universal cooking kit for use in a microwave oven. The kit comprises a heat generating element; a chamber forming element; a collector element; and, optionally one or more pan elements. The elements may be employed in a variety of combinations. The invention further relates to methods for cooking various foodstuffs via microwave energy, e.g., baking, boiling, broiling, crusting, frying, pressure cooking, searing, steaming and toasting.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,701,872 and 3,777,099 describe preheating metal plates by means of a microwave-absorptive heating member for use in microwave cooking. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,731,037 and 3,881,027 describe cooking food in a container which is in a preheated, heat insulated microwave chamber. U.S. Pat. No. 3,985,990 describes the use of a microwave shielded chamber, perforated on its food receiving surface, to permit recovery of by-products of cooking (e.g., grease) and to utilize the latent heat of vaporization which is normally dissipated in microwave cooking techniques. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,854,023 and 3,985,991 describe methods and apparatus for cooking foods in metal containers in microwave ovens. U.S. Pat. No. 4,027,132 describes heating and cooking a frozen pizza pie. U.S. Pat. No. 4,306,133 describes cooking a fruit pie having a double crust in a microwave oven. U.S. Pat. No. 4,280,032 describes soft cooking eggs in a microwave oven. U.S. Pat. No. 4,390,555 describes defrosting food in a microwave oven. U.S. Pat. No. 3,914,967 describes microwave heating grill constructions. U.S. Pat. No. 2,622,187 describes a microwave oven pressure cooker.